In Love

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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley or any other character for that matter. The only thing I own is the plot.

Well, isn't that something, Hermione thought as she walked to her class the next day. Learning about love and its risks certainly weren't something she thought she'd learn from Parvati. How Ironic. She smile a little at the conversation that they had about a week ago.

She had realized that she was afraid of getting hurt. After the whole ordeal with Harry, who wouldn't? But she didn't want to be afraid. Ron made her feel so happy and so alive that she didn't want to hold back on any feelings that she may have with him. She cared about him too much to make him feel short on their relationship.

She just walked in on her first class when Ron approached her with a big smile on his face and some flowers. "Good morning," he said, handing her the flowers and giving her a small kiss on the cheek.

"Oh Ron," Hermione said, smiling widely. "This is so sweet. Thank you." She leaned forward and gave him a small hug. "What's the occasion?"

"It's our third week," Ron replied, shrugging. "I just thought you'd like something special because of it." He smiled. Hermione smiled appreciatively, thinking of how much Ron really cared about her and her happiness. "And I was also thinking that maybe we could go to Hogsmeade this weekend," he added, shrugging once again. "To just celebrate or something. That is if you want to."

"Of course, of course," she said, walking to her seat and placing her stuff on her table. "I'd really like that." She faced him, stood on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then she whispered something in his ear, "You're the sweetest guy ever."

Ron turned red as Hermione planted her feet back on the ground. He grinned like some loony cartoon, held her hand and brought it to his lips to kiss it. "You deserve all the sweetness in the world."

"Is this some new soap opera or something? What's with all the drama and mushiness? Please," Draco Malfoy suddenly said. "Kids, there are better places to express such... such things."

Ron's head turned towards Malfoy, his eyes turning into slits. "Watch it, Malfoy."

"Or you'll what, Weasley?" Draco retorted.

"All right, all right," Professor Vector suddenly said, entering the classroom. "Today we're going to learn something new. Turn your books to page..."

Harry didn't talk to Hermione until the afternoon that day. After their public display of affection that morning in class, he felt like throwing up and avoiding them. But then he had to remind her of their date in Hogsmeade, which wasn't exactly a date date.

"Hey Hermione," Harry called to her as she was walking down the hall. She stopped walking and turned around.

"Harry, hi," she said as he approached her. "I haven't seen you all morning."

"Uh, I was feeling kinda sick so I decided to stay in the hospital wing for a while," he lied.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked, concerned. "Maybe you should rest more."

"No, no. I'm fine. I'm all better," he said, smiling a little. "So, listen, I just wanted to remind you of our outing on the weekend." Hermione looked at him blankly. "You promised to go to Hogsmeade with me," he reminded her.

"Oh I did?" she said, surprised. "I'm sorry. I must've forgotten. I have a lot of things on my mind. Did I say this weekend, on Saturday?"

"Yeah," Harry said, nodding. He was already feeling the rejection coming but didn't want to show it. "You're not busy, right?"

"Uh..." she said, hesitating. Then she hurriedly made up her mind on just telling Ron that she was going with Harry. "No, I'm not. I'll go with you. Is something wrong? I mean, do you and Parvati have a problem?"

"Uh... kinda," Harry lied, feeling worse by the minute. "Some problems."

"Oh okay," she said, smiling comfortingly. "We'll go to Hogsmeade."

He grinned. "Thanks, Hermione!" Then he was off.

"Ron," Hermione began as she approached him. She had been waiting for him all evening because he had quidditch practice.

"Hey," Ron said, smiling widely.

"I... I have to tell you something," she said quietly. She really wanted to go with Ron to Hogsmeade for the weekend and she was afraid that he would get made when she tells him that they can't go.

"What is it?" he asked, feeling concerned. "Is everything okay?" They sat down on the couch.

"Yes, it is," she told him with a small smile. "It's just... I... we can't go to Hogsmeade this weekend. I just remembered that I had plans."

"Oh," Ron said, nodding, "okay. That's fine. We'll go next time." He smiled at her. "Is this what you're worried about?"

"Well, I figured you wanted to go and..." Hermione trailed away, shrugging in uncertainty.

"Hermione, I'm not going to get mad at you just because you realized you had plans," he said, putting an arm around her and chuckling a little. "It's perfectly fine. We'll go next time."

She smiled back at him. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I get so worried."

"So where are you going?"

"To Hogsmeade. Harry asked me the other day and –."

"Whoa, wait a minute. Harry?" Ron asked, holding up a hand to stop her from talking. He looked at her intently.

"Yeah," Hermione answered slowly. "Ron, I –." But he stood up and began pacing in front of her, running a hand through his hair. "Ron, we're going as friends," she told him reasonably. "And he did ask me first, it's just... I forgot about it."

"It's okay," he said, stopping from pacing around and taking a deep breath. "It's okay." Hermione stood up and faced him.

"Harry's still my best friend. He's our best friend. So this is okay... right?" she asked him, asking for assurance.

Ron took another deep breath and nodded his head, assuring her. "Right." He sat down again. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I'm just –."

Hermione sat beside him and shushed him. "I understand," she said with an inward smile. She knew Ron felt jealous and she felt a bit happy because of it. She knew that Ron really cared about her. "You have nothing to worry about."